Minnesota Statutes 231.38 – Penalty for Transacting Business Without a License

Any person who shall transact the business of a warehouse operator or household goods warehouse operator, except for the purpose of winding up the same under the supervision of the department, without first procuring a license and giving a bond or providing proof of insurance as provided for in this chapter and any licensed warehouse operator or household goods warehouse operator who shall operate any warehouse without obtaining the permit herein provided for or who shall continue to transact such business after such license has expired or the required insurance has lapsed or such bond may have become void or found insufficient security for the penal sum in which it is executed by the department approving the same is guilty of a gross misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined in a sum not less than $100 nor more than $3,000 for each and every day the business is carried on before the license or permit, as the case may be, is issued or after the expiration of such license or permit or after receiving notice from the department that the insurance has lapsed or bond has become void or has been found insufficient security; and the operation of such warehouse operator or household goods warehouse operator may be enjoined upon complaint of the department before a court of competent jurisdiction.

Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 231.38

Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.

Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.

Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.

Misdemeanor: Usually a petty offense, a less serious crime than a felony, punishable by less than a year of confinement.

Person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44

A warehouse operator or household goods warehouse operator has 30 days after a license or permit has expired or insurance has lapsed or bond become void or been found insufficient before the penalty in this section applies.